YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — About 100 people have been ordered to leave their homes as a wildfire burns outside Yosemite National Park, fire officials said Sunday.

Residents of the community of Rancheria were told to evacuate Saturday, while residents of the nearby communities of Yosemite West, Old El Portal, Incline and Jerseydale have also been told they may have leave their homes.

The blaze is burning in a steep and rugged area of thick forests along Highway 140. The highway, one of the main entrances into the park, is shut down for nearly a 15-mile stretch from just east of the town of Mariposa to about two miles outside of the park”s entrance.

Officials suggest motorists take Highway 120 or Highway 41 instead. The Tioga Road is also open for visitors entering the park on Highway 395.

Park officials said the

was not affecting activities within the park.

The blaze, which began Thursday when a motorhome caught fire, was 35 percent contained Sunday. It had burned about 4,600 acres, or just over 7 square miles.

About 850 firefighting personnel were on the scene, including helicopter crews that are taking water from the nearby Merced River and dropping it on the flames.